Chief Justice Roy Moore suspended for rest of term over same-sex marriage directive

Moore was first removed from office in 2003 for defying federal judge's order to remove Ten Commandments monument

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Updated: 6:30 PM EDT Sep 30, 2016

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WEBVTT
JON JOINS US NOW WITH
SUSPECTS.
REPORTER: WELL, THANK
YOU, EUNICE.
ACCORDING TO THE 50-PAGE
ORDER.
NOW MOORE WAS ACCUSED ON
VIOLATING THE ETHICS IN
JANUARY, MOORE ORDERED
PROBATE JUMPS TO NOT
ISSUE GAY MARRIAGE
LICENSES SEVEN MONTHS
AFTER THE U.S. SUPREME
COURT HEELIZED SAME-SEX
MARRIAGE NATIONWIDE.
THEY CLIMBED MOORE'S
ORDER VIOLATED THE OATH
OF OFFICE DURING THE
TRIAL WEDNESDAY, MOORE
TESTIFIED HE NEVER TOLD
THE JUDGES TO DEFY'S
FEDERAL JUDGE AND ARGUED
THAT HE REMIND THEM THAT
ALABAMA SUPREME COURT
ORDER ON GAY MARM WAS IN
PLACE.
BUT IN TODAY'S ORDER,
THE COURT ORDERED THAT
MOORE WAS GLTIVE ALL SIX
CHARGES HE DID FACE;
HOWEVER, THE COURT SAID
IT DID NOT HAVE
UNANIMOUS VOTE TOT
REMOVE MOORE FROM
OFFICE.
EUNICE?
EUNICE: WHAT DOES IT
MEAN MOVING TO WARD?
REPORTER: MOORE IS
SUSPEND WITHOUT PAY.

The Alabama Judicial Inquiry Committee has suspended Chief Justice Roy Moore without pay for the rest of his term.
Moore is accused of violating ethics laws when he sent an order to state probate judges on same-sex marriage licenses, despite a federal court ruling on the issue.
He was suspended in May, and the Judicial Inquiry Commission asked the courts to permanently remove Moore from office.
Moore testified in his own defense Wednesday in front of the Judicial Inquiry Committee.
The JIC unanimously found that Moore was guilty of violating:
Canon 1, failing to uphold the integrity and independence of the judiciaryCanon 2, failing to avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all his activitiesCanon 2A, failing to respect and comply with the law and failing to conduct himself at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciaryCanon 2B, failing to avoid conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice that brings the judicial office into disreputeCanon 3, failing to perform the duties of his office impartiallyCanon 3A(6), failing to abstain from public comment about a pending proceeding in his own court.
Click here to read the JIC's order.
Moore's term was scheduled to end in January 2019. He has been suspended without pay and forced to pay court proceedings. His attorneys are appealing the decision.
A statement on the Liberty Council's website called the decision "an unbelievable violation of the law" and said the decision is a de facto removal from the bench, saying he will be ineligible to run again for election as judge because of his age.
“To suspend Chief Justice Moore for the rest of his term is the same as removal. The COJ lacked the unanimous votes to remove the Chief, so the majority instead chose to ignore the law and the rules,” said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel.
“The 2016 Administrative Order was merely a status report of the pending case before the Alabama Supreme Court. The order did not change the status quo. It did not create any new obligation or duty. To suspend Chief Justice Moore for the duration of his term is a miscarriage of justice and we will appeal this case to the Alabama Supreme Court. This case is far from over," Staver added.
Read the full Liberty Council statement here.
The Southern Poverty Law Center commended the Court's decision in the case.
“The Court of the Judiciary has done the citizens of Alabama a great service by suspending Roy Moore from the bench. He disgraced his office and undermined the integrity of the judiciary by putting his personal religious beliefs above his sworn duty to uphold the U.S. Constitution," said SPLC President Richard Cohen.
"Moore was elected to be a judge, not a preacher. It's something that he never seemed to understand. The people of Alabama who cherish the rule of law are not going to miss the Ayatollah of Alabama," Cohen added.
Moore was removed from office in 2003 for defying a federal judge's order to remove a Ten Commandments monument from a state building.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. —

The Alabama Judicial Inquiry Committee has suspended Chief Justice Roy Moore without pay for the rest of his term.

Moore is accused of violating ethics laws when he sent an order to state probate judges on same-sex marriage licenses, despite a federal court ruling on the issue.

Moore's term was scheduled to end in January 2019. He has been suspended without pay and forced to pay court proceedings. His attorneys are appealing the decision.

A statement on the Liberty Council's website called the decision "an unbelievable violation of the law" and said the decision is a de facto removal from the bench, saying he will be ineligible to run again for election as judge because of his age.

“To suspend Chief Justice Moore for the rest of his term is the same as removal. The COJ lacked the unanimous votes to remove the Chief, so the majority instead chose to ignore the law and the rules,” said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel.

“The 2016 Administrative Order was merely a status report of the pending case before the Alabama Supreme Court. The order did not change the status quo. It did not create any new obligation or duty. To suspend Chief Justice Moore for the duration of his term is a miscarriage of justice and we will appeal this case to the Alabama Supreme Court. This case is far from over," Staver added.

The Southern Poverty Law Center commended the Court's decision in the case.

“The Court of the Judiciary has done the citizens of Alabama a great service by suspending Roy Moore from the bench. He disgraced his office and undermined the integrity of the judiciary by putting his personal religious beliefs above his sworn duty to uphold the U.S. Constitution," said SPLC President Richard Cohen.

"Moore was elected to be a judge, not a preacher. It's something that he never seemed to understand. The people of Alabama who cherish the rule of law are not going to miss the Ayatollah of Alabama," Cohen added.

Moore was removed from office in 2003 for defying a federal judge's order to remove a Ten Commandments monument from a state building.